Wallis Buck

WALLIS BUCK, an honored resident of Tyrone township, and a gentleman of acknowledged integrity, is a native of Alpine township, Kent county, Mich., was born June 4, 1859, and is the third in a family of four sons and one daughter born to James Judson and Amelia (Wheeler) Buck, but of which family Wallis and his twin brother, Willis, are the only survivors, the latter being a prosperous mechanic of Coopersville, Ottawa county. The family is of English origin, and the present is the third generation in America. James Judson Buck was born in Genesee county, N. Y., April 3, 1822, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. He received an excellent education for those early days, and in his young manhood taught school. In 1844 he walked the entire distance from Genesee county, N. Y., to Kent county, Mich., purchased I60 acres of forest land in Alpine township, and paid for it in gold. Grand Rapids, now a city with a population of o00,ooo, was then a mere trading post for Indians, and there was not a railroad in the whole county of Kent, nor a factory of any kind, but to-day the city has a world-wide fame as a trunk-line railroad center and as the leading manufacturing city of the great northwest. The first dwelling occupied by Mr. Buck in the boundless forest was a shanty of logs, with a stick-and-mud chimney, and with but one aperture for light, ventilation, ingress and egress. His only companion in this wilderness was Hiram Myers, and his only table-ware were pieces of' bark. Indian were frequent visitors to his cabin door and deer abounded in the forest, but Mr. Buck never shot one of the latter, as he never owned a rifle. At times, as many as 700 Indians would camp at the little hamlet of Grand Rapids, and frequently the water was so shallow over the rapids as to entrap fish. But Mr. Buck was a gentleman of great energy and strength of character; was a true pioneer and knew well what he was about. He never ran in debt, never drank an intoxicant and never lost an opportunity of doing good. He prospered in his forest home, cleared up a fine farm, and at his death, which occurred November 9, I882, was the owner of 500 acres of land in Tyrone, Sparta and Alpine townships. In politics he was first a whig, but united with the republicans on the formation of the latter party, and, although not a member of any religious society was a constant church-goer and freely contributed his means toward the support and the advancement of every worthy cause, whether religious or secular. He was strictly moral, and the death of no man in the neighborhood was more deeply mourned than that of James Judson Buck. Mrs. Amelia Buck was also a native of Genesee county, N. Y., and was born in I828. She died in the faith of the Baptist church in I863, honored and beloved by all who knew her, and her remains now rest in Kent county, those of her husband being deposited at her side. Wallis Buck received his education in the common schools of Kent county and passed through the entire course of study. He early became a lumberman, but the major part of his life has been passed as an agriculturist. May 8, 1879, he married Miss Effie M. Purdy, and of their two children their son has been called away. Their daughter, Ola M., is a member of the class of I899 of the Kent City public school, has passed her final examination, and has the following record: Rhetoric, 100; algebra, 93; botany, 97; physics, 86; history, 99; arithmetic, 95-a general average of 95 percent, and an excellent one. She is an adept in instrumental music, and her trend of thought is toward linguistic attainments. Mrs. Effie M. Buck was born in Huron county, Ohio, September 23, I86I, and is a daughter of Daniel M. and Rachel (Davenport) Purdy. She was but ten years of age when brought to Kerrt county, Mich., by her parents, who settled in Sparta township, where the father purchased I20 acres of improved land. Her father was also a native of Huron county, Ohio, was born February II, 1827, and died in the village of Sparta, Mich., November 2, 189o. He had visited Kent county several times before permanently settling here, and when he first saw Grand Rapids, Canal street was a swamp. Mrs. Buck's maternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and her mother, who was born near Ithaca, N. Y., February I, I829, is yet living. Of the six children born to the parents of Mrs. Buck two are deceased, and the four survivors are Charles B., the eldest, who is married and is a farmer, residing in Sparta; Frank W., also of Sparta, is married and is a mechanic; Effie M., now Mrs. Buck; Minnie, wife of Orson Bradford, of Sparta township. In 1886 Mr. and Mrs. Buck located at their present home of forty acres, one-half mile north of Kent City, have ever since been honored residents of Tyrone township, and both stand as firm friends of the public schools, favoring the employment of the best instructors. In politics Mr. Buck is a republican, cast his first presidential vote for the lamented Garfield, and has been active in local party affairs, serving at various times as a delegate to the county conventions. Fraternally, he is a member of Lisbon lodge, No. 224, F. & A. M., and Mrs. Buck is an attendant at the Baptist church. Socially Mr. and Mrs. Buck stand very high in the esteem of the residents of Tyrone township, and well deserve their exalted standing in the community.